St. Landry democrat., 1887-08-20

nations Often of Very Minor Importance
Largest Liberty in Religious Belief Nee
essary-Truth will Conquer in the End.
THE HAMpToNs, August 14.-To-day
fhe Rev. T. De Witt Talmage's sermon
Is Concerning the Bigots;" and the
text, Then said they unto him, Say now
Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for
he could not frame to pronounce it
right. Then they took him, and slew him
at the passages of Jordan" Judges 10: 6.
Do you notice the difference of pro-
nunciation between shibboleth and sib-
boleth? A very small and unimportant
difference, you say. Andyet, that differ
ence was the difference between life and
death for a great many people. The
Lords people, Gilead and Ephrai,.. got
into a great fight, and 'Ephraim was
worsted, and on the retreat came to the
fords of the river Jordan to cross. Order
was given that all Ephraimites coming
there be slain. But how could it be
found out who were Ephraimites They
were detected by their pronunciation.
Shibboleth was word that stood for
river. The Ephraimites had brogue
of their own, and when they tried to say
shibboleth always left out the sound of
the Oh" When it was asked that they
say shibboleth they said sibboleth, and
were slain. Then said they unto him,
say now shibboleth, and he said sibbo-
leth, for he could not frame to pronounce
1t right. Then they took him and slew
him at the passages of Jordan" A very
small difference, you say, between Gilead
and Ephraim, and yet how much intole-
rance about that small difference! The
Lords tribes in our timely which
mean the different denominations of
Observation-Disclosures magnify very
small difference, and the only difference
between scores of denominations to-day
is the difference between shibboleth and
sibboleth.
The church of God is divided into
great number of denominations Time
would fail me to tell of the Calvinists,
and the Arminians, and the Sabbatarians,
and the Baxterians, and the Dunkers,
and the Shakefs, and the Quakers, and
the Methodists, and the Baptists, and the
Episcopalians, and the Lutherans, and
the Congregationalists, and the Presby
terians, and the Spiritualists, and score
of other denominations of religiOnists,
some of them founded by very good men,
some of them founded by very egotistic
men and some of them founded by very
bad men. But as | demand for myself
liberty of conscience, must give that
same liberty to every other man, remem
bering that he no more differs from me
than differ from him. l advocate the
largest liberty in all religious belief and
form of worship. In art, in politics, in
morals and in religion let there be no gag
law, no moving of the previous question,
no persecution, no intolerance.
You know that the air and the water
keep pure by constant circulation, and
think there is a tendency in religious
health. Between the fourth and the
sixteenth centuries the church proposed
to make people think Alright by prohibit
ing discussion and by strong censor
ship of the press, and by rack, and
gibbet, and hot lead down the throat,
tried to make people orthodox; but it
was discovered that you cannot change
mans belief by twisting off his head,
and that you cannot make man see
things differently by putting an awl
through his eyes. There is something
in a mans conscience which will hurl
off the mountain that you threw upon it,
and, unsinged of the fire, out of the
fame will make red wings on which the
martyr will mount to glory.
In that time of which speak, between
the fourth and sixteenth centuries, people
went from the house of God into the
most appalling iniquity, and right along
by consecrated affairs there were tides of
drunkenness and RIGHTEOUSNESS such as
the world never heard of, and the very
sewers of perdition broke loose and |
flooded the church After a while the
printing press was freed, and it broke |
the shackles of the human mind. Then |
there came large number of bad books,
but where there was one man hostile to
the Christian religion there were twenty
men ready to advocate 1t; SO have not
any nervousness in regard to this battle
going on between Truth and Error
The truth will conquer just as certainly
as that God is stronger than the devil
Let Error run If you only let Truth run
along with it. Urged on by skeptics
shout and transcendentalist's spur, let it
run. Gods angels of wrath are in hot
pursuit, and quicker than eagles beak
clutches out hawks heart Gods ven
geance will tear it to pieces.
I propose this morning to speak to you
of sectarianism-its origin, its evils, and
its cures. There are those who would
make US think that this monster, with
horns and hoofs, is religion. 1 shall
chase 1t to its hiding place, and drag it
out of the caverns of darkness, and rip
off its hide. But I want to make dis
tinction between bigotry and the lawful
fondness for peculiar religious beliefs
and forms of worship. / have no admi-
ration for Nottingham.
In world of such tremendous vicissi-
tude and temptation, and with a soul
that must after while stand before
throne of insufferable brightness, in
day when the rocking of the mountains
and the flaming of the heavens and the
upheaval of the sea shall be among tie
least of the excitements, to give account
for every thought, word, action, prefer
ence, and dislike-that man is mad who
has no religious preference. But our
,ar1v education orr nhveioa1 fanopor